1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a system and method in which a called party can prepay phone charges in order to receive incoming calls at a discounted rate. In particular, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention relates to a system and method that can be used for inmates housed in a department of corrections facility making outbound calls to a customer with a prepaid account.
2. Background
In recent years, telecommunications service providers have enabled customers to pay for telephone calls in a variety of ways in order to suit their individual needs. For example, in one method a customer could utilize a payment program that requires no prepayment for activation of the account. Most customers utilize such a payment plan through participation in “monthly” billing for services. In another less popular example, customers can be billed on a per call basis. This is done for example through the use of coin deposit pay telephones.
In yet another way of paying for telecommunications services, customers can choose to prepay for telephony services. Prepaid telephony service is a very popular service as prepaid calling cards can be purchased by customers at numerous retail locations and used to place calls. Typically, a user or subscriber of a prepaid calling card initiates a phone call by calling a signaling agent, located at a call center, via a toll-free number (800/888) provided on the prepaid calling card. The subscriber is then prompted to enter his home telephone number and an identification number (PIN) also provided on the prepaid calling card using a telephone keypad. If the code is correct, the call is connected. Once the customer has used all of the purchased time, a new card can be purchased or the same card, in some instances, can be re-authorized upon payment of further fees.
Another type of prepaid billing that telecommunications providers employ for customers is a “called-party” prepayment method. By using this method, the called party (i.e., a customer) can pay for future received collect calls from various callers. Typically, to sign up for such a program, a customer initiates a phone call to a call center run by a telecommunications provider. Once a prepayment is received, the customer can receive prepaid calls.
However, while providing possible competitive advantages and allowing customers to select one or more of these services, the telecommunications providers encounter several monetary disadvantages in employing some of these programs. For example, with regard to a called party prepayment plan, when a call is made from a calling party to the called party, the taxes (required for every call connected) are paid at the time of sale (i.e., when the program is initiated). Over time this causes a loss of revenue for the telecommunications provider since taxes are calculated at the time of purchase rather than at the time of use.
Additionally, this tax calculation causes telecommunications providers additional monetary losses in terms of remuneration to employees where salary and bonus amounts are dependent upon sales. Specifically, employees are usually paid salary and commission and bonuses based upon sales. However, with these conventional prepaid plans, up until now, the allowed air time was sold in bulk, thereby making it impossible to resolve the amount of the total charge directed to call fees and the amount of the total charge directed to taxes.